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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ground — the earth
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chip — for betting
  10. track — to keep track
  11. sharp — clever
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ground — a position
  23. chip — to eat
  24. track — a path

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com